I Think I Need You
by d0vahqueen
Summary: Mugen misses Fuu, but refuses to admit it to himself. Fuugen stuff because I ship them so hard. I don't own Samurai Champloo.


_"Mugen."_

 _"Mugen!"_

 _"MUGEN!"_

His eyes popped open, sweat soaked his skin. This is how it had been since they'd parted ways. He would drift to sleep, only to be awoken by that brat screaming his name. The brat with the voice that had brought him from the brink of death.

It had been three months since they parted ways - not that he was counting - and this was his reoccurring nightmare. Sometimes it would be him dying, sometimes it would be her dying, but it always ended with him being awakened by the sound of her calling his name. Mugen wouldn't allow himself to consider why it was so much worse when she died, calling his name, the scythe removing her head cleanly from her neck. His body involuntarily shuddered at the thought, and he grimaced.

She'd probably gotten herself into trouble after they'd gone their separate ways. With an annoyed huff he laid back down, resolving to set out looking for her in the morning.

 _Just to make sure she didn't get in to too much trouble,_ he reasoned with himself, before drifting into a fitful sleep.

 **One Month Later**

It was dusk when the three men ambled in to the little shop she worked in. Their eyes were trained on her body as she walked over to them, and she suppressed a shudder. She smiled brightly as she approached their table.

"Hello, gentlemen! What can I get you this evening?"

At this, the men shared smirks with each other. "We can think of something," one of them said. Her smile faded into a grimace. The men weren't unattractive, but their eyes belied the vileness inside of them.

"We have great dumplings," Fuu said, struggling to keep her composure. She hadn't had to deal with many men like this since leaving Mugen and Jin. She supposed she should be thankful, but the thought of those two made her wistful for those times.

"Three orders of dumplings, and two bottles of sake," the one who appeared to be the leader grunted at her. She bowed her head and made her way back to the kitchen. The owners of the shop - Mr. and Mrs. Akimoto - were a hard working older couple. She had shown up on the doorstep of their shop around three months ago, nearly starved, and begging for a job. The Akimotos had no children of their own, and upon seeing the skinny little thing, took her in immediately. They even let her stay in the little enclosed teahouse that they had near their house. Seeing her expression, Mrs. Akimoto frowned.

"Fuu, are those men giving you problems?" she asked. Fuu shook her head, not wanting to be the reason they lost money.

"It's fine, I'll be okay. I've dealt with worse men than them," Fuu chuckled. She never would've thought that she'd be looking back on the first day she met Mugen fondly. Mrs. Akimoto looked at Fuu, noting the small smile on the girls face as she lost herself in a memory. The memory was short lived, though, as the dumplings Mr. Akimoto was finishing were shoved into her hands. She brought them out to the leering men, and quickly went back for the sake they'd ordered.

When they finally left, hours later, they'd consumed four more plates of dumplings and two more bottles of sake. Fuu had breathed a small sigh of relief as the last one left the establishment, and quickly set about cleaning up the mess they'd left in their wake.

"We're leaving now, Fuu! Do you want to walk home with us, hun?" Mrs. Akimoto called to her from the back door.

"No! I want to finish cleaning this mess first. I'll be home soon," was the reply that came back. Another half hour passed before Fuu was finally leaving the shop. The walk to her little place was only about ten minutes, and she set out, humming to herself as she went. She had tried not to think too much about Mugen and Jin, when she did it almost felt like she could feel her heart fracturing in half. She missed them so much, even Mugen, (especially Mugen), that it sometimes felt like she couldn't breathe. She was so busy _not_ thinking about her two bodyguards that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching her until it was too late.

A large hand clamped down over her mouth, the other hand clamping down on her shoulder in a vice-like grip, the male body behind her guiding her into a small alley off the main street. She could hear the hushed giggles coming from the companions of the guy holding her. She was pushed roughly against the side of a building and held there, the hand clamped over her mouth was removed, and as she took a huge intake of breath to scream a blade was pressed against her throat.

"If you make one noise, I'll slit your throat and then have my way with your corpse. It'll still be warm." It was the man from the shop. Tears began leaking out of her eyes as he talked, small shuddering breaths. He and his companions giggled harder as he bent down to grab the hem of her kimono, sliding his hand up her leg slowly. Just as he reached her mid-thigh, they heard the crunch of gravel and then the dull _thud_ of something hitting the ground. The man holding her turned to see what was going on, and Fuu took the opportunity to slam her foot down on his. He grunted in pain, snarling, "Bitch!" as she took off running down the alley, not turning to see if she was being pursued.

She could hear the sound of crunching gravel as someone chased after her, and it was gaining on her. She'd never be able to outrun this guy, so she stopped and turned, gathering a lungful of air to let out a scream. But the scream died in her throat as she saw the face of her pursuer. Tears again flowed as she threw herself into the arms of the person in front of her.

"Mugen!" she breathed, "How did you find me? What are you doing here? Did you kill those men?"

"Why the fuck are you always getting yourself into some mess, huh? Dumb bitch, always needing to be saved," Mugen grumbled, but he tightened his arms around her.


End file.
